Salvation of the Wind
by Unroyal Paladin
Summary: Zed, the criminal of Calm, suddenly has a drastic change in his life, when he comes to the world of Personas. A new beginning, of an adventure he'll never forget.
1. The World where Wind Stays Still

Time never waits...

It delivers all equally to the same end...

You, who wishes to safeguard the future, however limited it may be...

go forth, without flatter,

with your heart as your guide...

... ...

Calm... ...

A world where no wind blows... It wasn't dead, but people walked in the streets with medical masks covering their mouths, probably as a result of the city polluting its own breathing air.

There, was a young boy named Zed.

He had a friend in that world, named Noa. Noa has been Zed's friend ever since Zed helped him when he was attacked by bullies.

However, fate had more than living in a world without wind in store for them... the wheel of fate began to turn.

In the city, there was a place special to Zed. A place he'd go whenever he felt unsure. 11:56 PM, at that one place...

"Again here, Zed...? At least tell me what you're thinking, breaking all those doors and gates around... You know already, the police are after you for that."

"I know that... ... they never learn, huh...?" Zed's comment was completely outrageous. It was like he didn't understand, nor even try in the slightest to understand any of the rules in Calm. In contrast, Noa, was the 'lawful' student, and even the Student Council Representative in the school both attended.

"Not only for that they're after me, but for the Apathy Syndrome as well..." Zed finished his sentence, and went to sit beside Noa, instead of Just standing while Noa sat in his usual spot.

"What do you mean...? Tell me, please..." Even though Zed's ignorance of the rules in Calm was rather confusing, Noa simply tried to ask Zed again, in hopes for a better answer.

"You know, the Apathy Syndrome... That one with people suddenly collapsing like zombies and barely recover, if at all? They blame me for it." Honestly, it wasn't the first time Noa heard of that thing called the Apathy Syndrome. However, it was the first time he heard that the police were blaming Zed for it.

"I know you're not responsible for that Apathy Syndrome... but why do you break those doors...? -? Ugh!" Noa still wanted an answer, but he was interrupted by his incurable disease which was taking a toll on him almost all his life. Zed, of course, quickly got up from his seat to help his friend.

"When I break those doors... I feel like I can go anywhere. It's like behind those doors there is a world where I should be." Zed closed his eyes as he tried to explain, but of course that explanation was anything but. It was like only he knew what was the meaning behind his words.

"I feel like I can be free. And besides... I want to find my true self." Zed yet again made a confusing remark, even though Noa was starting to understand Zed's mind a little bit. 'To find his true self'...? What could he have possibly meant by that...?

Noa looked at time... ... it was 11:59 PM. One more minute, and it would be midnight... However, the police decided to come after Zed, announcing their arrival as loudly as ever.

"We know you're there, Zed! Surrender yourself, the building is completely surrounded!" Was their ever cliche line being said. Soon after, the police officers were seen inside the place, which was ruins of a building, Noa being stressed, thinking that even though he wanted to help Zed, he couldn't do anything for him anymore. The head of the investigation was standing before three- no, four policemen, ready to capture Zed.

"Zed, you've got too far with your pranks. We can't ignore this anymore, after you've murdered innocent people, leaving only their human forms behind! Even your mother has the same symptoms too...!" He said, quite sure that Zed is the murderer.

"I didn't do it!" Zed countered the 'detective''s claim accusing him of murdering those with the Apathy Syndrome, that with much hostility.

"Don't lie! You better tell us how you've done it... before you're executed! Catch them!"

...

23:59:55

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23:59:56

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23:59:57

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23:59:58

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23:59:59

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00:00:00.

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**Also, I strayed a bit from the original Kiba first episode, I could make Noa give Zed an evoker, and make Zed's mother see that instead of the feathers, but it would seem bit strange for Noa to give Zed a gun on his birthday, Noa being the student representative from the school doesn't help either... so I made Calm less important for the time being. Please review so I could do better at this story, okay?****  
**


	2. The World of Darkness, The Dark Hour

At that moment, Zed's eyes widened. "What... is this...?" Were the only words which came out of his mouth. The floor was covered in pools of what seemed like blood, no electrical devices worked, and the worst of all, for Zed at least... all the people near him were turned into scarlet coffins, transmogrified, just standing there and reflecting the full moon's malicious light.

At that point, Zed thought to run out of that place; however he couldn't just leave his friend alone... he tried to take Noa's coffin with him, however it was somehow too heavy to even move. With nothing he could do to even move the coffin, Zed gave up on taking Noa with him. Then, he noticed something moving.

"Who is it?" The kid with the red coat shouted, only to find out that it wasn't even a person... It was a moving black puddle with an aqua colored mask with the number [ I ] on its forehead, as a kind of a face, even though the mask had a kind of neutral face all the time. It also had two hands sprouting from the puddle in front of the mask. That was a creature Zed has never seen before.

The creature then let out a strange noise which seemed like a growl of a beast, yet it was different. "D-Don't come near me!" Zed shouted in fear of the unknown creature, which was advancing towards him in quite high speed. Then, in response to his heed for help, Someone answered Zed in the midst of the dark hour, with a sound similar to breaking glass, echoing through the place... ...

Once again, it was no human, that who heeded the call... It was a human-like figure with light-green skin, long silver hair, and two white blades, which looked like wings. "Thou art I, and I art thou. My name is Amir Gaul; I hath come from the sea of your soul, to guide you through hardships." Were the words which echoed through Zed's mind when the figure appeared in its full glory.

Before the monster had the chance to touch Zed, which it was close to do already, Amir Gaul quickly used one of its wing-shaped blades to slash it. The mask of the monster was slashed, the puddle itself just dissolving until nothing of it was able to move.

Zed then looked behind him, and saw a portal of some sort, which was apparently sucking air inside it. Still within the dark hour, Zed decided that it is better to be free instead of being captured in Calm. He ran into the portal which Amir Gaul left through, and jumped into it, just before it disappeared without a trace...

'Amir Gaul... What do you want me to do...' Zed thought to himself, while he was being transported somewhere inside the strange space, apparently Amir Gaul leading the way.

Meanwhile, in a different world...

"Akihiko, give me back up here! I'll finish the rest; Go for the ones who are weak to electricity!" A teenage woman with long red hair appeared to be fighting a few of those monsters too during the dark hour with a short one-handed sword as her weapon, with another teenager who had short white hair, and had boxing gloves as a weapon. They were fighting two groups of shadows, apparently the woman knowing their weaknesses, telling them to the electricity-user Akihiko.

That was when the portal Zed went through opened right above the battlefield, Zed landing surprisingly safely on the ground, creating some sort of a miniature storm as he landed. In response, both the fighters and the shadow froze in their places, as they turned to see what was that which happened that moment. "A garu skill?" the red haired woman shouted, as she turned to the source of the sudden miniature storm.

That was when Zed actually got to look around him for a change. He didn't notice that Amir Gaul was still above him, waiting. The teenage fighters were in shock to see a human land like that, let alone to actually see a human alive while experiencing the dark hour, however they didn't have time to play around with him, as the shadows around them regained their focus on fighting, and some of them even charged at Zed, only to be slashed by Amir Gaul.

"Hey, you! Don't just stand there, help us fight those monsters! That's a persona you have there, isn't it? Use it!" The male fighter, named Akihiko, shouted over to Zed, who still didn't snap out of his shock to see a totally different world. Akihiko took from his waist a gun-like object, and pointed it at his head. He then shouted his persona's name, 'Polydeuces', and shot himself in the head, a thing which didn't kill Akihiko, as that gun didn't shoot bullets, but summoned his persona for him.

Only that shout-out from Akihiko was able to get Zed into the battle for real, Zed starting to take the offensive. "Amir Gaul!" He shouted, Amir Gaul switching to the offensive. It didn't take too long, and the shadows were being defeated one by one by Amir Gaul, while Zed was avoiding any stray shadows. It paid off being pursued by the police all the time... but that wasn't the thing which mattered then. When the last shadow was defeated by Amir Gaul, it returned to its host, Zed collapsing from fatigue in the dark hour.

""Are you alright? Damn it, why tonight of all nights those shadows decided to appear outside Tartarus..." Akihiko cursed their bad luck regarding the monsters called 'shadows' and their newcomer; However the red-haired woman had to admit that the newcomer had done an excellent job defeating those shadows. "I say we take him to the dorm. He looks like he was just exhausted from being in the dark hour. I can't believe it's his first time, although I can't blame him." She said to her partner Akihiko, who approved with a nod.

...

* * *

**Yea, about Amir Gaul... ... that's how I spell his name, because he isn't a spirit in this story, but a Persona. As a spirit I have no problem with Amil Gaoul, but that's the same name and the same entity, even though it's a Persona now. Besides, when it's name is split to japanese characters, it's A-Mi-Ru Ga-U-Ru , so both are right, given R can be mistaken with, or used as L. Ijou!**


	3. The World of Possibilities, Persona

...

When Zed woke up, he found himself in yet another strange place. This time, it was what seemed like an elevator, however it had more than enough space for him, the chair he sat on, a table, a couch, and two other people in the room, one of them being an old man in a rather formal clothing, and the most noticeable thing about him was... ... his long, long nose. The other person in the room stood beside the couch was a woman dressed entirely in blue, with a book in her left hand.  
"Where... am I?" Zed tried to ask, even though the old man was about to explain everything to him. "Welcome, to the velvet room. This is a place between dreams and reality, mind and matter. Don't worry, young man, in the real world you are fast asleep." The old man answered, in a rather creepy tone, but the whole room was strange to begin with.  
"W-Who are you...?" Zed asked the man, hesitating to even trust him in the slightest. "Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Igor. ... I'm delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth. She's a resident here, like myself." The man, who named himself Igor, answered Zed without straying from the subject he was asked about. "Pleased to meet you." Elizabeth formally said after.  
"It's been years since we had a guest... A guest like you, I think I could say that we have never had." Igor said, seeming delighted for that rare occasion which fell on the velvet room to accept such a guest as Zed. "Normally, only those who signed a contract, can enter this place. Yet, you, without signing the contract, have somehow managed to enter this place." Igor continued, spreading the facts.  
"Even the fact that you came here without signing the contract is a miracle by itself. However, I can see that you will have some ordeals ahead of you, so I'm afraid I must ask you to sign the contract, before I'll be able to give you the means of coming to this room again." Igor said, and moved his hand a bit above the table, a contract appearing on it, as if by magic. Zed was hesitant to just sign a contract he has never seen before, and with the presence of the even mysterious Igor and Elizabeth, mostly Igor.  
"Don't worry young man, the only thing you promise me by this contract, is that you take responsibility for the consequences of your actions. Once your action has been made, time cannot be reversed, and there could be consequences coming from your actions, for good or bad..." Igor continued, explaining the whole 'contract' thing. With a nod of understanding from Zed, a pen appeared near the contract.  
"All I have to do is to take responsibility to what I do, right?" Zed asked Igor, who responded with a nod. The young man then picked up the pen, and signed the contract. "Good. Please hold on to this. It is a key to this velvet room." Igor continued to explain, as a key appeared above the table. "Now then, time is running in the world you're currently in. You'll come here sooner or later, on your own accord. Then, until we meet again, farewell..." Igor lastly said, Zed awakening from that strange dream he had.

...

When Zed finally woke up for real, he was sleeping in a rather comfortable bed inside what seemed like a hospital. It was afternoon, and apparently the guy who goes by the name Akihiko went to check on him when he woke up, finding him sitting on the bed. "Oh, you finally woke up, huh? Ya know, it's been a whole week. We saw that you didn't wake up after a day or two, so we thought to bring you to the hospital instead, not knowing what to do with you when you didn't wake up." Akihiko said, with a tiny smile on his face. Zed didn't know how to react, as he was one of the two who helped him fight the whole group of shadows that night.  
"My name is Sanada Akihiko, a third year high school student, and you?" Akihiko asked Zed, his smile apparently gone. Zed introduced himself, not mentioning he was from Calm. However, it was visible that being in a hospital brought up some unpleasant memories about his past. Akihiko saw this, and guessed that he wasn't the type to talk about himself... although about personas, Akihiko believed that he would still talk. "You know, about what happened that night... don't mention it to anyone who isn't me or Mitsuru. No one except us, and another first-year student, who has the same power like you." Akihiko warned Zed.  
"W-Why that...?" Zed wondered. He found no reason not to tell about what happened to him. "During the dark hour, all people transmogrify into coffins. You saw that, didn't you? In that state, they don't feel a thing. Only a few chosen are able to experience the dark hour... those who have the potential, 'Persona'. Also, during the dark hour, no place is safe, except inside those coffins. You saw those monsters, we call them 'Shadows'. They appear during the dark hour, and attack anyone they sense who isn't in a coffin during that time. Enough of a reason?" Akihiko explained almost everything he knew about the dark hour, in purpose to warn Zed once and for good.  
Zed had to agree that time. He was rather confused by all the information suddenly coming at him, but he had to agree about that it was enough of a reason not to tell anyone about the dark hour. "Well, we don't want to scare you, but I'd like to know... ... where did you come from, Zed? Suddenly appearing in mid-battle during the dark hour like that..." A question came from Akihiko, one which Zed knew will come sooner or later. "A place called Calm... I don't know how the hell did I get here myself..." Zed answered honestly, looking a bit depressed. It was a place Akihiko never heard of before, a thing which made Akihiko confused too.  
"I have to go now. We've been taking turns watching over you in the hours they let us. Don't worry, the other first-year student will watch over you. You can even get to know her a bit, it won't do any harm to know your comrades." Akihiko said, Zed so confused about the situation he was in as a whole, that he barely said a thing the whole conversation. Dark hour, Shadows, Persona, Potential, all were thrown at him at once. What he was sure about, was that he wouldn't have to disobey the rules or break doors, as he found the world he was supposed to be in. Meanwhile, Akihiko pulled out his cellphone, and called the first year student he talked about.  
"Hope you get better, 'cause we want to take on THAT place soon, even before the school year starts." Akihiko mentioned yet another thing which confused Zed. From Zed's point of view, Akihiko was a nice guy overall, but all the terms he had to remember caused him a headache. "What's the time here anyway...?" Zed asked, honestly not knowing what was the date and time in that world. "March 17th, about 17:20. I'll get going then." Akihiko responded, and left the room. A strange thing for Zed was, that he could feel some wind getting in from somewhere in the hospital. "Wind... ..." He said to himself.  
Just when he snapped out of his thoughts about wind, Calm which has none of it whatsoever, and himself in another world, right outside the door... well, almost, but not far from there, and in Zed's range of hearing, he heard two people. "Come on, Sanada-senpai...! You knew I wouldn't avoid this, and you still called me...! I was right here!" One of them said. It appeared to be female, and 'Sanada-senpai' was how Akihiko was called by juniors in school, as he was senior, as Zed was told, so the kid with the red coat knew more or less what was happening there. "Calm down. Besides, he woke up while I was watching on him. He can really keep you company now." Was what Akihiko said, apparently embarrassing the junior, being right outside Zed's room. What Zed didn't see was, that Akihiko said that with a smile to tease the junior.  
After a few seconds, Zed not hearing clearly what was being said between the two, the first year student entered the room. "Hi there... I'm Takeba Yukari. I heard a lot about you... What's your name?" The first year student, now identified as Yukari, asked Zed as an appropriate first-time meeting. "Z-Zed... I didn't ask to be famous around here too." Zed answered. "But you ARE something worth talking about. You know, someone appearing out of nowhere and defeating all the shadows almost by himself, that's a great feat." Yukari said in contrast to Zed's claim that he isn't someone worth boasting about. "Whatever. So when I'll be able to get out of this hospital?" Zed asked, hurrying more than he should.  
"Well, after the doctors will do a checkup on you, we can head straight to the dorm. We'll explain everything to you in detail there, with the chairman." Was what Yukari answered, apparently not offended by Zed hurrying up more than is healthy for him. Zed first imagined the chairman to be an important figure who runs all the fighting and planning and whatever came to Zed's mind at the moment. However, his imagination, and reality, were two disturbingly different things.  
Zed stayed with Yukari for a while, until she left the room to inform the doctors that he was awake. That world seemed to be doing wonders to Zed, as from the moment he arrived on that world, he wasn't disobeying any rules, and he wasn't treated like a criminal as a result. Even though the part of hurrying up and rushing the changes too much was left in him, he wasn't breaking the rules as he pleased. After the doctors did the checkup, he was released from the hospital, and with Yukari, he went to the dorm where all were staying. When they arrived, it was already evening.


	4. Iwatodai Dorm, New Life

"Ah, the newcomer's here." The redhead from the battle in the dark hour, Mitsuru, as Akihiko said her name, said as he arrived with Yukari. Mitsuru herself was sitting on one of the couches in the entrance floor. "Oh, so that's the newcomer you told me about? Rather nice to have me meet him face-to-face..." Another person sitting in another couch said, seeming a bit more than pleased to meet Zed in person. "I brought Zed from the hospital after they said he was good to go. Is that alright?" Yukari told Mitsuru while writing their names in some book in the entrance, Mitsuru responding with a nod. "Come here, have a seat. Akihiko is still out, but it's still fine." Mitsuru added, Yukari and Zed sitting on the couch across from Mitsuru, and the chairman on their right side. On the table there was a suitcase, with the letters "SEES." written on it.  
"So you're the newcomer, huh?-" "Enough of the 'newcomer' thing! Newcomer here, newcomer there, my name is Zed!" the friendly chairman began, however he was cut off by Zed, who had it already with being called a newcomer. He was rather vulgar in the way he said it, but it saved the chairman the trouble asking Zed's name. "Ermmm I guess I'll call you Zed-kun from now on. Anyway, if you'd let me introduce myself, I'm Ikutsuki Shuji. Ikutsuki... hard to pronounce, isn't it? Even I get tongue-tied some" Ikutsuki replied, introducing himself in a rather unique way. He wasn't as serious as Zed imagined him to be at the first time he heard about him, but seemed carefree nonetheless. "My name is Kirijo Mitsuru, a senior student who lives in this dorm. I take it as Akihiko and Takeba already introduced themselves to you?" Mitsuru introduced herself followed by a question, Yukari responding with a nod.  
"You know, Zed, I heard a lot about you, beating those shadows better than everyone on the group... One would have to watch out for you in the SHADOWS." Ikutsuki said, making an extremely lame pun, making all the nearby people sigh except himself, who just giggled a bit. That wasn't even one of his good ones... in his opinion. "He likes making puns... you'll get used to it." Yukari whispered to Zed, not to hurt Ikutsuki. Zed knew from then what she was talking about from experience with that chairman. "Anyway, you've appeared here in that 'portal' of wind, but you appear to have the potential... that's why we need you, to fight the Shadows. There aren't many people with the potential, being able to wield the power of a persona... well, correction, those are very rare, and the shadows aren't to be left alone, as you already saw them, you should understand." Said Ikutsuki, explaining some stuff that Zed didn't understand at first.  
"B-But if humans are turned into coffins during the dark hour, why was I able to enter the dark hour in the first place?" Zed asked a question, apparently a good one, since both Ikutsuki and Mitsuru nodded with a bit of a smile on Ikutsuki's face before returning to his rather serious expression from earlier. "That's because the Shadows don't just stroll around it seems. It seems like they call their prey to enter the dark hour, and those they call retain their human form. Then, if the person doesn't have the potential, his mind gets eaten by the Shadow, and that's what the Apathy Syndrome is actually, and not what they say about stress and such." Ikutsuki answered Zed's question. That answer angered Zed a bit, for the police in his own world accused HIM of the Apathy Syndrome cases, and only now that he is in another world with no visible way to return, he learns the ultimate truth about the Apathy Syndrome.  
"Well, I believe that's about all you need to learn for now about battling Shadows, except one more thing you need to know of. That is what this suitcase is for. You may open it now." Ikutsuki pointed to the suitcase before him on the table. Zed really wanted what was inside the suitcase from the moment he sat on the couch with Yukari next to him, and wondered what was that thing he needed to know of that Ikutsuki said. When he opened the suitcase, he found a gun with the same letters - "SEES" written on them, a belt with a place to hold said gun, and a red arm strap, with the same letters - "SEES." . He was surprised to see the gun inside. He did recall that Akihiko used that kind of object in the fight that one night in the dark hour, but now they gave one to him too.  
"This is now yours, if you join the SEES. On the outside, it's just a private school club, but in reality, it's a collection of people with the potential, in the purpose to fight the Shadows." Ikutsuki said. "SEES...?" Zed repeated after Ikutsuki, not really following what was that group. "Short of Special Extracurricular Execution Squad. Don't think about it too much." Mitsuru resolved the issue. "If it involves testing my power and killing Shadows, I'm in." Zed replied, intending to join the SEES. "Well then, if you already plan to join the SEES, why don't you sign up to the school it's in? You know, you could make new acquaintances there, learn some new things which weren't in your world, join some other clubs like the Kendo club? Well, I'm not the one to force you, but-" "Whatever. If it is necessary to join SEES, I'll sign up." Ikutsuki started to talk about things other than battle, like school, only to be cut off by Zed, who just tried to make it seem like it's just for the SEES.  
"Whatever you wish. We'll sign you up to the school, and you decide what to do with it. Now's the time to make those decisions, as a new school year is approaching." Ikutsuki concluded. It was Mitsuru's turn then to take control of the conversation. "Now that we gathered enough people to the SEES, we can explore that place in the dark hour. You don't know of it yet, do you?" Mitsuru asked Zed, who responded with a 'no'. "That place, maybe you've already seen it in our last battle against the Shadows, is an extremely tall tower which appears only in the dark hour. We called Tartarus. It's one big nest for the Shadows. Usually most of the Shadows don't come outside Tartarus, but sometimes those which are closer to the entrance come out of Tartarus and you already know what happens then..." Mitsuru explained about the tower called Tartarus. "...Apathy Syndrome." Zed replied. "Can we go today?" Zed asked, hurrying again for no reason.  
"I've been hoping you'd say that. It's decided then." Mitsuru said, just as Akihiko found the time to enter, almost caught dumbfounded by Mitsuru's rather wide smile... for her standards. "W-What happened right now...?" He asked, with a priceless facial expression. "We're going to Tartarus." Zed said, sure in himself. Akihiko, in contrast, wasn't sure about going into Tartarus. "W-Wait! You'll be fighting against Shadows in there! Tartarus is no playground for kids!" Akihiko almost shouted at Zed, in thought that Zed was thinking it was a walk in the park. "I didn't think that way whatsoever. I just want to beat the Shadows and improve my abilities." However, Zed didn't think so even for a mere second. Akihiko didn't have any more claims against going to Tartarus, as they had enough members already to challenge that place. "Fine. We'll meet at 23:30 here at the lobby. I'll be in my room; Yukari, can you show him his room?" Akihiko asked, combining sentences.  
"A-Alright." "Don't forget to be here on 23:30." Yukari agreed, Mitsuru throwing another remainder for Zed. Yukari led Zed up the stairs to the next floor, and went through the corridor, stopping at the last room. "Here it is. It's easy to remember, right? Since it's right at the end of the hall. If you'd like to get some rest before going into Tartarus, now's the time." Yukari said, Zed nodding in response. Then, the promised time came... ...

* * *

**Well, that's the fourth chapter. Ikutsuki with his lame puns strike again I guess... even though I think that pun was more than lame, I'd have Mitsuru stab him in the head like in [She goes for a walk] just for that, if I wouldn't had decided for the story to stay neutral and just emulate his puns in the most accurate way possible, instead of it being comedy... ... don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't like comedy or anything!**


	5. The Tower of Demise, Tartarus

"Everyone, are you ready to go out to Tartarus? The dark hour starts exactly at midnight, so we have no time to lose." Mitsuru asked the group of 3 people standing before her. "Heh, I'll get a little training from this." Akihiko threw a comment, not to Mitsuru's amusement. "Akihiko, let me remind you that YOU were the one who said that a trip to Tartarus isn't exactly a walk in the park." Mitsuru dropped the point perfectly. "Yea, you said that Tartarus isn't a playground for kids." Zed making it even worse. "H-Hey hey, don't blame me, I'm just the experienced one worrying about the new- erm... comrades." Akihiko was about to say 'newcomers', only to stop at the last moment and change his words.  
They walked out of the dorm, passing through the crowdy streets of night, and through the rather crowded station of iwatodai leading to the port island the school was in. When they got to the school gate, it was already 23:57; They were almost exactly on time. "Hey Zed, you still didn't see what happens here exactly at midnight, did you? Brace yourself." Akihiko said, with a smile on his face.

23:59:55

23:59:56

23:59:57

23:59:58

23:59:59

00:00:00.

When the clock hit midnight, Zed noticed the all-familiar malicious green light from the moon, however the sight of Tartarus transforming was so sudden, the school building visible in one moment, and gone in the other, Tartarus ascending to it's full glory, amazed the young boy with the red coat. This was the first time he saw Tartarus. From his point of view, it seemed like a tower which could never stand straight due to it's rediculous shape, and with some speculation it even seemed like some buildings were attached to it, possibly the school which was there before the dark hour. After a few seconds from shock and awe from Zed and Yukari, a lot more from Zed, Mitsuru broke the cold silence. "This is Tartarus. A labyrinth that reveals itself only in the dark hour. It will be our first time coming into this place, so watch out for any Shadows." Mitsuru said. "W-Wait, what happened to our school?" Yukari asked a rather legitimate question.  
"Everything will return to normal once the dark hour passes. No need to worry." Mitsuru calmed her down. "Well, lets enter, shall we?" Akihiko said, trying his best to hide the smile of finally getting some good training in the Shadows' nest. 'I wonder why THIS place out of all places...' Zed thought to himself as he standed in front of the school gate.  
The group entered through the school gate, and through Tartarus' gates which were rather pretty for the nest of the Shadows. When they opened the door, it seemed like they had some company. There were three guards right after the entrance doors, keeping Tartarus safe from any humans invaders, or humans seeking shelter from the dark hour, their minds were eaten without mercy. "Guardians at the entrance?" Mitsuru said, shocked. The three guards were black bird-like creatures, with golden masks on their faces with three points like a crown, and the number [ III ] on the masks' forehead. "Mitsuru, quick! Get us their weaknesses!" Akihiko shouted towards Mitsuru, getting ready to battle the three Shadows. "A-Alright. It will take me some time." Mitsuru replied. "Alright, Zed, you know what to do...!" Akihiko said, apparently anxious, pointing his evoker to his head.  
"Polydeuces! Sonic Punch!" Akihiko ordered his Persona, Polydeuces doing exactly what it was told. It punched the bird-like Shadow in its stomach area, knocking it back, but not finishing it off. "Io! Use garu!" Yukari shouted, her persona appearing above her. Even though the wind magic skill attack hit the shadow, it seemed to have some sort of a resistance. "Attack, Amir Gaul!" Zed shouted, summoning his Persona. Apparently, Amir Gaul didn't know what it meant to 'Attack' , but Zed and Amir Gaul were two sides of the same coin, a human and his Persona, so the end result was that Amir Gaul used his wing-like swords to cleave the shadow. "I got it!" Said Mitsuru. "Venus Eagle, weak to electricity, but strong against wind. I've scanned you and your persona too, Zed, don't use wind attacks against it, it won't be as effective." Truth be told, she could see that Amir Gaul could use wind attacks even without scanning it and concluding that from the fact that it was able to nullify wind attacks.  
"Which means it's my turn to beat them! Zio!" Akihiko shouted, as lightning struck the 'Venus Eagle' which didn't suffer damage yet. The Venus Eagle which was struck by Polydeuces was dissimilated immediately, eliminated from existence. "Once more, Zio!" Akihiko did the same for one of the other Venus Eagles, having the same result. The last guardian Shadow tried to attack Zed as a last resort attack, and maybe to lower the number of opponents it had to face, but Zed was more agile than the shadow, managing to avoid its talons, and counter-attack with Amir Gaul, slashing it again, eliminating it. "Phew. I didn't think that we'd have to face Shadows at the entrance floor. And guardians too... Good job, everyone." Mitsuru concluded. Yukari let out a 'phew' which Zed noticed, although she said she was alright when Zed asked her.  
Zed got to take a look around Tartarus' entrance floor when the group stopped for a few moments to rest from the battle. Tartarus sure was strange from the inside, it was like an impossible space, yet it was still intact. One thing Zed noticed the most was a strange door which was next to an old clock with its needles spinning fast, the needle for the minutes was spinning a whole 360 degrees in half a second. Zed walked towards the door, and apparently opened it. Before he knew it, he was in the velvet room again.

...

* * *

**For the people who want the analysis about Amir Gaul, here it is, as provided by our Marin Karin-ing scanner Mitsuru-senpai:**

**Zed **

**Persona: Amir Gaul**

**Arcana: Wheel of Fortune**

**Status:**

**Slash: -**  
** Strike: -**  
** Pierce: -**

**Ice: -  
****Fire: Wk  
****Lightning: -  
****Wind: Nul**

**Light: -  
****Dark: -**


End file.
